Planning to meet future needs

Infrastructure that does not meet reasonable consumer expectations will impact our daily lives and Australia’s economic growth. Delivering infrastructure requires major investments and long lead times, so it is crucial to plan ahead to meet changing business and community needs.

Australia faces some unique challenges in delivering infrastructure due to its vast size and distributed population. The Government is enabling the right conditions for investment to support delivery of digital infrastructure that meets the needs of all Australians now and into the future.

Ensuring our digital infrastructure is secure

Our national digital infrastructure also needs to be secure. A key way to reduce national security risks of adopting new technologies (including infrastructure such as 5G and the Internet of Things) is by promoting security-by-design where technologies are designed from the ground up to be secure, rather than as a future consideration. You can read about what the Government is doing to keep Australians safe online in the section on cyber security.

“Australian businesses also need access to infrastructure that allows them to thrive in a digital economy. This includes access to reliable, fast and inexpensive telecommunications and mobile networks. Over 70 per cent of all businesses have identified mobile internet and access to high speed broadband as either moderately or extremely important for their businesses.”

The department acknowledges the traditional owners of the country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures and to the elders past and present.